This petition is to modify the lottery system for Burning Man 2012 to end hoarding and scalping, and revert to the old model for future events.

"We formally petition the Board to modify the lottery system of Burning Man 2012, and a return to the previous system for future events:

1. Existing ticket allocations made via the lottery system would be assigned to the purchasers credit card credentials (valid ID), purchasers would be given five business days to assign their second ticket to a valid ID, or allocate any of their tickets to the STEP program (with no fee).

2. All tickets would be locked to an ID and tranferable via STEP ONLY, thus eliminating the black market.

3. After the five day grace period, participants with an extra ticket can allocate their ticket to the STEP program (with fee imposed).

4. Participants without a ticket can sign up via the STEP program.

5. Tickets in the STEP program are allocated to buyers first come first serve as they are registered for sale. The seller cannot directly select the recipient (otherwise blackmarket transfers could be arranged) .

6. The buyer pays face value of the original ticket.

7. After the grace period a $5 fee for the transfer is imposed to the seller, thus discouraging buying “extra” tickets, hoarding, or scalping in the original sale.

At the gate, tickets are checked to ensure the ID presented matches the name assigned to the ticket.

This system would end ticket hoarding and scalper speculation, and return "extra" tickets back into the system since they cannot be scalped, transfered, or otherwise assigned outside the STEP program.

All future ticket purchases are assigned to a specific valid US ID or valid passport and are non transferable outside of STEP.

Good proposal. Suggested modification: Give ticket holders who free up un-needed tickets via STEP a $20.00 incentive (perhaps paid via the honer system by recipient) if they release them by the end of March. This will get them into the hands of theme camps, mutant vehicle builders who need them ASAP to plan._______________________________________________

On another note what a turnaround since 1997, my first Burn when the Washoe County Sheriffs seized ticket sales funds at the gate because of concerns the BORG would not be able to pay vendors, for fire protection etc. Larry stood under Michael Christian's Bone Arch and pleaded "if you can come up with an extra 5, an extra 10, if you can give us $100 you get a ticket to next year, you just have to believe it's gonna happen next year and that's an act of faith"

The CO wrote:Intercourse the petition. Spend your time securing a ticket rather than promoting keypress slacktivism.

Time required to partake in "keypress slacktivism" and send a clear message to BMORG that you think they made a mistake and should assume some level of accountability and attempt to remedy a fucked up situation: about three minutes.

Time required to secure a ticket: STEP won't be live for 19 days, open sale doesn't start until March 28th, If you happen to know where all the "extra" tickets are.. well, you're doing a lot better than most without tickets. Securing a ticket, while being a worthwhile expenditure of time, appears that it will indeed take a good deal of time, weeks to months. I think it's safe to assume that most participants signing the petition are indeed planning on securing tickets.

If a petition like this was sent to me at any of the events I manage, I would wipe my ass with it and send it back.

Don't like how tickets worked this year and want to change things? Here ya go:

Contact the borg yourself. Try to be eloquent. 3000 individually written emails/letters/phone calls have far more impact than one form-letter petition with 10k signatures.

Get on eplaya for more than pissing and whining. Become part of the community here. The borg and various departments actually do read this stuff. But, and this is a big but, they don't tend to pay much attention to single post ranters.

M*A*S*H 4207th: An army of fun.I don't care what the borg says: feather-wearers will NOT be served in Rosie's Bar.When I ask how many burns, I mean at BRC.

Arockfrancois- network baby! Theme camps, villages, and individuals out there are using their own intrapersonal networks to seek out tickets and (really) offload limited extras. But yoy have to do the hunting. Talk to everyone you know, burner or not. Let them know yer lookin.

M*A*S*H 4207th: An army of fun.I don't care what the borg says: feather-wearers will NOT be served in Rosie's Bar.When I ask how many burns, I mean at BRC.

The Borg Queen: Small words from a small being, trying to attack what it doesn't understand.

A-RockLeFrench wrote:Time required to partake in "keypress slacktivism" and send a clear message to BMORG that you think they made a mistake and should assume some level of accountability and attempt to remedy a fucked up situation: about three minutes.

i personally will be very surprised if the borg doesnt have some inkling that people aren't happy about the state of affairs and may possibly be planning something to try and correct matters. However if they arent and not one of the big sound/theme camps or villages gives up and chooses not go thereby saving themselves $$$$$$ and forcing us to have to fend for ourselves for entertainment well I'm pretty sure (not 100% but close) that we will manage, I may have to drink wine by the end of the week but you know what I'm going to have a great time and feel good that i planned for a good time whatever BM is like this year hope that next years complaints arent so bloody repetitive and pointless though of course the bitching and moaning this year did start much earlier than usual, it has now been going on for a while and is continuing to dominate the boards and if a brand new burner was to come here looking for advice they will see a bunch of whiney whinging gits shouting "WHERES MINE I DESERVE IT MORE THAN THEM" and when they get to the playa they may not have the right boots or be aware of important things like Barbie Death Camp & wine bistroNow i realise as burners you entitled to a good whinge about tickets in fact it seems to be a tradition, though i do beleive it is supposed to wait until after the sale is completd before getting started, that can be ignored as this year is different but please can you all just take a step back, read the threads that exist already the comments made and answers given, especially those of the moderators who are as i beleive it has already been mentioned, and Saint trilobyte of the infinite patience especially and just realise that all that this bitching moaning and complaining is acheiving absolutely nothing and will not, its a bit late to change things this year the tickets are sold to scaplers, speculaters, burners and birgins, the general public and core theme camp members. now it is likely for every sinlge one of us on here (eplaya) that is dissapointed at not getting a ticket there about 12 who are just as let down. maybe more or maybe less, who gives a shit about the maths. Lets jut try and make the most of it and hope the system lets the tickets that are out there and not getting used go to the people who are going to burning man and make it happen not the the theme camps who feel they have right because they have done it for X years and not to the sound camps who feel entitled but to the burners be they new or old who are participants, who will go out meet people and give others exciting and great stories of the community in the desert where everybody is welcome. so please stop making threads of blame it on the borg, lets just all pull together, and make this year even better than last year.

FREE THE SHERPASBurners with torches is right and natural and just.-fishy.CATCH AND RELEASE.

In addition to signing the petition, I recommend posting a reply here as well. Let's make this a HOT discussion topic and get some attention. Let's make this happen. Who has other ideas of spreading the word?

instead of signing the pretty pointless petition why not plan how to bring art to the playa without needing 3000 minions and a kickstarter campaign? be a particpant instead of a whining negative copycat

FREE THE SHERPASBurners with torches is right and natural and just.-fishy.CATCH AND RELEASE.

And this, I'm starting to paste the following into just about every discussion that happens to pertain to the ticketing fiasco, especially the ones where the nay-sayers are accused of pissing and whining, and boy, there are A LOT of them.

"Acting like a whiny baby is one thing. Perceiving a problem and proposing a solution is another. Maybe it's not the best solution, maybe it is. Maybe we don't even need a solution, but it sure as hell is NOT crying.

Seems to me as though the folks who's panties are really in a bunch over this whole thing are the ones freaking out about the fact that people are supposedly freaking out about this and "crying". There has been a slew of issues afflicting the majority of the Burning Man community as a result of this new system, that is not debatable. It even appears to many that the issues this new system was designed to address have not been resolved, in fact maybe even exacerbated them, such as scalpers. We do not know for certain, and we won't until at least June, if ever. The fact is that no one has enough information to form truly informed opinions on the matter, except the BORG of course.

I for one, feel as though ALL reactions from the community towards this issue are valid, whether in support of the lottery or vehemently against it. I think trying to invalidate any responses, especially those critical of the situation by immediately labeling the dissenters "cry-babies" and their responses as "sniveling" and "whining" and in turn attempting to discrediting anything they have to say is, in the words of the Pope: pretty fucking lame."

First off A-Rock, as the petition is written I would not sign it. If I purchase two tickets I should be able to assign the extra ticket to a friend through STEP. Many folks do not have credit cards. Fix that and I will consider it.

Second, as someone stated earlier, 3000 separate emails will have a lot more affect than 1 with 3000 signatures. Consider figuring out how to make it more important to the powers that be.

Yes, I would have to agree with the point that 3000 separate emails would be more effective than one with 3000 signatures. I also will concede that this petition will not accomplish jack shit, if the collective outcry of the last 4 months went completely unheeded by the TPTB I see no reason why the BORG wouldn't wipe their asses with this petition.

I am not speaking in defense of the petition because I think it will mean something to TPTB or because I actually support the objectives stated in the petition, but because I support the idea of members of a community to petition the leaders of said community when they are not happy with the decisions being made.

The amount of animosity in the Eplaya community towards community members who are experiencing valid emotional responses to a fucked up situation (real or perceived) is sickening. The impression that I get is that those who are supposedly emotionally mature enough to the point of being unaffected by this, or simply more 'rational' than the "whiners" are pretty sick of everyone's "whining" and that there are many, many, many threads where this issue has been already "addressed". The point I would like to make in response to this is that if an issue keeps arising over and over again than it has NOT in fact been addressed, much less resolved.

Kimo took the effort to put together a fairly well thought ticket / signature registration proposal & petitionI am sure he is open to discussion and suggestions to modify it. Anyone suggesting that it is a waste of time,that "3000 e-mails would be more effective" have you taken the time to write your own e-mail to the BORG ?Or has your only effort been critiquing his effort ?

A-RockLeFrench wrote:I am not speaking in defense of the petition because I think it will mean something to TPTB or because I actually support the objectives stated in the petition, but because I support the idea of members of a community to petition the leaders of said community when they are not happy with the decisions being made.

Well said and I agree on this point. I know a lot of folks are complaining on ePlaya. I think it has gotten the attention of TPTB as well. I appreciate the fact that the Mods have not tried to curtail this even though they read the same basic message over and over again. There is power in numbers.

nocturnal_steve wrote:Kimo took the effort to put together a fairly well thought ticket / signature registration proposal & petitionI am sure he is open to discussion and suggestions to modify it. Anyone suggesting that it is a waste of time,that "3000 e-mails would be more effective" have you taken the time to write your own e-mail to the BORG ?Or has your only effort been critiquing his effort ?

I am offering a suggestion that makes it more palatable. If he sees fit to change it, so be it.I have sent an email to TPTB and have been vocal since the lottery was first suggested. Every one has their own ideas how to make it better. I think community can come up with it. I think we need to stop doing the tiered tickets even though I have often needed the lower tiers in the last few years. One ticket, one price, more fair, less for scalpers to try and score on.

I have read most of the ticketing ideas. This one is better than most and is getting close to a solution. Keep up the good work. But again, as it is written I will not sign it.

Galaxo Magic wrote:Second, as someone stated earlier, 3000 separate emails will have a lot more affect than 1 with 3000 signatures. Consider figuring out how to make it more important to the powers that be.

You're welcome!

Direct action always beats button-push slacktavism.

M*A*S*H 4207th: An army of fun.I don't care what the borg says: feather-wearers will NOT be served in Rosie's Bar.When I ask how many burns, I mean at BRC.